Exclusive – Graham: Walcott should sign one-year deal at Arsenal then prove he deserves more money

Former Arsenal manager George Graham has urged Theo Walcott to sign a one-year deal at the club and then prove he deserves the reported £100,000-a-week wages he wants.

The England winger’s contract at the Emirates is set to finish at the end of the season, but he appears unwilling to accept the current £75,000-a-week offer which the club have put on the table.

And Graham, who spent nine silverware filled seasons with the north London outfit as a coach, believes Walcott should sign a short-term deal and finally prove he is an automatic pick for Arsene Wenger before demanding astronomical sums of money.

He told Kick Off: “I think [Arsenal] have made a stance on [the contract dispute]. I think probably he’s a squad player. He’s not really a regular, for me, in the Arsenal team and I think that [£75,000] is a very good offer.

“If I was Theo I would say, ‘I will sign that on a one-year contract’, and if he’s got enough confidence in his own ability and signs the one year deal and does the business on the pitch then he can go in there and say, ‘now I want this [amount of money].’”